Apparatus for cleaning carpets, garments, and the like



H. HAMMARLING APPARATUS FOR CLEANING CARPETS, GARMENTS AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 5, 1954 Patented Aug. 11, 1936 PATENT, OFFICE APPARATUS FOR CLEANING CARPETS, GARMENTS, AND THE LIKE- Hjalmar Hammarling, Stockholm, Sweden Application December 5, 1934, Serial No. 756,139 In Sweden. December 15, 1933 5- Claims.

This'. invention relates to apparatus for cleaning carpets, garments and the like, and has for its object to provide an apparatus of this kind, by which the cleaning operation may be conveniently carried out by a heating, or similar action without subjecting the operator to the dust a troublesome way. The apparatus according to the invention comprises, substantially, the combination. with a support upon which the carpet, garment or other article to be cleaned, is adaptedv to be freely placed, of a beating tool in the shape of a rod, bar or the like, which is movable up and down parallelto itself through a slot formed in. the support in order toact upon the article to be cleaned while the latter is moved on the support across the slot- As. an alternative, two or more slots may be formed in the support, each with its. individual operating tool. To the slot. or slots a suction conduit may be connected. in. such a way as to receive the dust dislodged from the carpets or the like by the beating action in order to carry it way into a dust collecting chamber, from which, the collected dust may be removed at regular intervals or whenever required. Thisiform of the invention is adapted for use in buildings where beating of carpets is not allowed to be carried out in the yard, but must take place in a separate beating room. This form, though without dust conveyer, may also be used, to advantage, in the open air or in beating rooms where by means of a. ventilation fan the air contained in the room is moved in such a direction as to carry the dust away while preventing it from becoming troublesome to the operator, or in another way.

In the accompanying drawing, two embodiments of the invention are illustrated. Fig. 1 is a cross section, and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section, on the line AA of Fig. 1, of one embodiment. Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, and Fig. 4 is an end. view, partly in section, of thesecond embodiment. Fig. 5- is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

With reference to Figs. 1 and 2, the numeral l indicates a prismatic box of lengthened shape, the transversely inclined top 2 of which is formed with a longitudinally extending slot 3 through which a rod or bar 4' extending in the longitudinal direction of the slot 3 may move up and down, parallel to itself, in an inclined plane. Said rod or bar 4' is carried by arms 5, one at each end of the bar, which extend into the box where they are guided, together with the rod or bar 4, in a guidewa-y 6 engaging the slot and constituting, inside the box, a closed receptacle through the bottom of which the arms 5 tightly pass. Below the guideway 6 each arm 5 carries a cross-bar I and a laterally projecting pin 8 engaging a cam disk or eccentric 9 carried by a shaft l9 extending longitudinally through the 5 guideway. The shaft It is mounted in two partitions H to which the guideway 6 is secured at its ends, the cam disks 9 being carried by the ends of the shaft l9 projecting outside said partitions. To this end, the pins 8 pass through 10 slots l2 formed in the partitions which extend in the direction of movement of the arms 5. By a suitable power transmission, as a toothed wheel gear l3, M, the shaft H! is geared to the shaft I5 of a driving motor l6 located in the box l between one partition I! and the respective end wall of the box I. Attached to the cross bars 1 are tension springs ll, the other ends of which are secured to the top 2 of the box.

The cam disks 9 comprise a spiral operating surface and a radial return surface 9ll,'Fig. 1, situated between the outermost and innermost points of the spiral cam surface. As a result, the rotation of the cam disks in the direction of the arrow a, Fig. 1, from the position shown in this figure, will successively depress the arms 5 with the bar 4, while setting the springs ll. As soon as the pins 8 pass beyond the highest point of the cam surfaces, the springs will rapidly retract the arms 5 upwardly. An article, as a carpet or garment, which is pulled in the direction of the arrow b, Fig. 1, that is, from the higher to the lower edge of the top 2, will be subjected to an effective heating action along the entire length of the bar, each time the latter is thus retracted, the free placing of the carpet allowing it to yield, so that the dust may be dislodged by the beating action and allowed to drop. Owing to the oblique position of the guideway 6 for the bar 4 and its supporting arms and to the inclination of the top 2 of the box as well, there will be obtained, unless the carpet is not too heavy, an automatic feed of the carpet as a result of the beating action, which will give a component parallel to the inclination of the top 2. According to the drawing, Fig. I, the slot 3 is considerably wider than is necessary for the passage of the bar 4, and is covered by an openwork l8 on both sides of the bar which allows the dust to drop into the box-like guideway 6. Due to the fact that there are no transmission elements, as levers or the like, between the cam disks 9 and the arms 1, the mass of the moving parts may be reduced to a minimum, whereby the speed of the beating tool, which determines the effective power of the beating action, may be high without necessitating the use of an undue great spring power to effect the working stroke of the tool. To the box-like guideway 6 there may be connected a suction pipe I!) for withdrawing the dust dislodged by the beatin operation. Said pipe may belong to a pipe conveyer driven by a fan, through which the dust is carried away into a dust collecting chamber which may be emptied at regular intervals or whenever required. In order to efiect a substantially uniform distribution of the suction action along the entire length of the guideway, there may be inserted in the guideway a longitudinally extending intermediate bottom 20 of varying width, having its greatest width directly in front of the opening of the pipe I 9 and successively decreasing in width towards both ends of the guideway.

In Figs. 3 and 4 there is shown an apparatus according to the invention in combination with a dust suction apparatus for domestic purposes. The numeral 2| indicates the support for the articles to be cleaned. This support comprises a horizontal table, though it is obvious that it may also be inclined, as in the embodiment above described. Through a slot 22 formed in the table 2| the horizontally extending bar 26 may move vertically up and down, parallel to itself. The bar 26 is carried by arms 21 which engage, by means of pins 28, into vertically extending guide-slots 29 formed in lateral pieces 30 of the supporting table. Up and down movement is imparted to the arms 21 by levers 3|, pivoted at 35 and acted on, for the upward movement, by springs 33 and, for the downward movement, by power-driven eccentrics 32. To the under side of the table 2|, round the slot 22, is connected the mouthpiece 23 of the suction conduit 25 of a dust suction apparatus 24 of a type commonly used for domestic purposes. The arms 21 pass through openings 34 formed in the walls of the mouthpiece 23.

In operation, the article to be cleaned, as a carpet or garment, is placed upon the table 2| and pulled over the same across the slot 22, while the eccentrics 32 and the suction apparatus are in operation. As a result, the successive portions of the carpet or garment will be subjected to rapid beats, produced by the bar 26, whereby the dust or dirt is dislodged and drops through the slot 22 down into the mouthpiece 23 and from thence passes through the conduit 25 into the dust collector of the suction apparatus 24. It is thus seen that the cleaning operation may be conveniently carried out indoors.

When the operation takes place in the open air, the apparatus may be simplified by removing the suction apparatus and its mouthpiece, so that only the beating bar acts through the slot.

It is to be noted that the constructions illustrated represent examples of the invention only and that modifications may be made without departing from the principle of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for cleaning carpets and the like, comprising a carpet support having a slot formed in it, a beating bar extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of said slot, arms extending through said slot to carry the bar, levers mounted adjacent one end thereof on fulcrums below the support and pivotally connected to said arms at their other ends, a driving shaft, cams on said driving shaft to engage the free ends of said levers for moving said arms with the bar in one direction through the slot while maintaining its parallel direction with relation thereto, and springs acting on the levers for moving the bar in the opposite direction through the slot.

2. An apparatus for cleaning carpets and the like, comprising a carpet support having a slot formed in it, a beating bar extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of said slot, arms extending through said slot to carry the bar, a box-like guideway for the bar and its supporting arms opening into the slot,

levers mounted adjacent one end thereof on fulcrums below the support and pivotally connected to said arms at their other ends, a driving shaft, cams on said driving shaft adapted to engage the free ends of said levers for moving the levers ,with the arms and bar in one direction through the guideway and slot, springs for moving the levers with the bar and its arms in the opposite direction through the guideway and slot, and means to subject the guideway to a suction action.

3. An apparatus for cleaning carpets and the like, comprising a support for the articles to be cleaned, said support having a slot formed in it, a beating bar extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the slot, arms to carry said bar from beneath the support and to move it up and down through said slot, while maintaining its parallel position with relation thereto, means to guide said arms during this movement, levers fulcrumed between their ends so as to present a longer and a shorter arm, the longer arms of said levers being connected to said carrying arms, a driving shaft, cams on said shaft to engage the shorter arms of said levers for moving them in one direction and then releasing them, and springs for moving the levers in the other direction when released from the cams to cause them to efiect a rapid beat on the carpet.

4. An apparatus for cleaning carpets and the like, comprising a support for the articles to be cleaned, said support having a slot formed in it, a beating bar extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the slot, arms rigidly connected to said bar, a box-like guideway below said slot to guide said arms so as to cause them when reciprocated in their longitudinal direction to move the bar up and down through the slot, while maintaining its parallel position with relation thereto, a driving shaft below said support extending parallel to the direction of the slot, cams on said shaft, levers fulcrumed on pivots near said shaft, said levers having each a longer arm connected to the carrying arms of the bar and a shorter arm engaging a cam on the driving shaft in such a way as to be moved thereby in one direction and then released therefrom, and springs engaging the levers near their fulcrum in such a way as to rapidly move the levers in the other direction when released from the cams.

5. An apparatus for cleaning carpets and the like, comprising a support for the articles to be cleaned, said support having a slot formed in it, a beating bar extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the slot, arms rigidly connected to said bar, a box-like guideway below said slot to guide said arms so as to cause them when reciprocated in their longitudinal direction to move the bar up and down through the slot,

while maintaining its parallel position with relation thereto, a driving shaft below said support extending parallel to the direction of the slot, cams onsaid shaft, levers fulcrumed on pivots near said shaft, said levers each having a longer arm connected to the carrying arms of the bar and a shorter arm engaging a cam on the 'driving shaft in such a way as to be moved thereby in one direction and then released therefrom, springs engaging the levers near their fulcrum in such a. way as to rapidly move them in the other direction when released from the cams, and means to subject the guideway to a suction 5 action.

HJALMAR HAMMARLING. 

